The Lip Keeper

“Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:3)
“Loose lips sink ships” – and a whole lot more! They can sink marriages and friendships, churches and ministries, programs and plans, vacations and vocations. Words can be such a blessing and yet, more than often, words cause such trouble.
Offense, hurt, misunderstanding, embarrassment, confusion and dissention are just a few of the results of words that should not have been spoken. The Psalmist obviously recognizes the damage that his own lips can cause. David asks the Lord to assign a “Lip Keeper” to stand at the door of his mouth. Not a bad idea!
Perhaps this Divine “Lip Keeper” will remind David of the need for both knowledge and wisdom when opening one’s mouth. Knowledge helps us know what to say while wisdom helps us know when to say it and how to say it. Good words can lose their value when spoken at the wrong time or in the wrong way. And bad words, well, they’re still bad anywhere anytime.
A good self-discipline before speaking is to run a quick test by asking the “Lipkeeper” a couple simple questions like – “Should I say this?” and “Should I say this now?” If the answer is “Yes”, then there is still one more question we should ask before we speak – “Is this how I should say it?”
I guess if we all asked for the help of a Divine “Lip Keeper” there would probably be a lot fewer words spoken.
Sounds good to me!